USC senior and returning center Kilian O’Connor suffered a significant injury in fall camp and will miss the season head coach Lincoln Riley announced Thursday. Riley described it as a “non-contact freak injury.” He underwent surgery on Thursday morning.
“Tough blow for us. It was kind of a non-contact freak injury, honestly,” said Riley. “Tough one for us I think more than anything from an emotional standpoint. Tremendous leader… one of the heartbeats of this program. Tough one for the guys to see. We’ll get him fixed up and get him back here with the guys and he’ll be a big part of this team even though he won’t be on the field this year.”
This is the latest injury that has plagued the former walk-on over the last three seasons. O’Connor won the starting job in 2025 but only started eight games after a reoccurring knee injury. The knee gave him problems the year before, which limited him to just eight games.
Overall, the redshirt senior has started eight of 16 total game appearances the last two years. O’Connor’s been one of the best recent stories for the program, a preferred walk-on that worked his way to scholarship player, starter and key leader in the locker room.
“I came here to be a player,” O’Connor famously said. “I didn’t come here just to be a bag holder.”
The 6-foot-1, 300-pound O’Connor spoke candidly about his injury this summer, especially on playing without fear in his return.
“I just try my best not to think about it all,” said O’Connor. “Honestly, I know that a lot of people struggle with that. I really think that the more you try to not get hurt is when you actually get hurt. I mean, there’s obviously situations where you just get unlucky and that happens a lot. But the less you think about it, you just kind of got to go. Go full speed and not think about it.”
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O’Connor was a standout out of Santa Margarita High School in the Trinity League as a three-year starter. He earned Cal-Hi Sports All-State second team, All-CIF Division 1, Orange County Register All-Orange County first team and All-Trinity League first team as a senior.
OL Outlook
Kilian O’Connor missed 2026 spring camp as he recovered from offseason knee surgery. That gave the Trojans plenty of time to rep redshirt junior Tobias Raymond at center. The 6-foot-6 Raymond dove into learning center this offseason in hopes of becoming a viable option in the middle.
The Trojans also return redshirt sophomore Kaylon Miller, redshirt freshman Wilie Wascher and true freshman Kannon Smith as center options.
Injuries were a problem for the Trojan offensive line last season with the loss of O’Connor and left tackle Elijah Paige. Paige missed multiple games with his own knee injury, which also required offseason surgery. Right tackle Justin Tauanuu also played banged up, getting a procedure done after the 2025 season and sitting out spring as well.
Offensive line is considered a major strength for USC this season with all five starters last season back and seven in total with starts. The line will pair with returning QB Jayden Maiava and backfield duo King Miller and Waymond Jordan.
The season will open Aug. 29th in Week 0 against San Jose State.